The Point of a Points System: Attracting Highly Skilled Immigrants the United States Needs and Ensuring Their Success

In a globalizing world, labor is an increasingly mobile and competitive resource. Responding to this changing labor market, countries like Canada, the United Kingdom, and Australia have adopted points systems with the goal of attracting talented, highly skilled immigrants. In the United States, however, much of the national focus on immigration remains on deterring illegal immigration rather than attracting immigrants that the United States needs to remain competitive in a globalized world. But attracting skilled immigrants is only one ingredient to a successful points system; a country must also ensure those immigrants are successful and use their talents to the fullest potential post-entry. This Note proposes the United States enact its own points system, but with a narrower goal than other systems: attracting highly skilled immigrants, while ensuring their success in the United States.